After all, pitchers who touch the upper-90s rarely have the kind of pinpoint command that draws comparisons to Hall of Famer Greg Maddux<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kirby has capitalized on those special talents in the early stages of his big league career. He was sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 despite not debuting until more than a month into the season. In 2023, he was an All-Star. And over his first three seasons, he never posted an ERA above 3.53 or a walk rate above 4.1%.<\/p>\n The right-hander did have an inconsistent year last season, but that could be at least partially contributed to a delayed start to his season. Kirby went on the injured list for the first time in his career, missing the first two months of the campaign\u00a0with right shoulder inflammation.<\/p>\n After a down year by the one-time All-Star\u2019s standards, Kirby enters 2026 as one of the Mariners\u2019 clearest candidates for a bounce-back season. And perhaps there\u2019s still another level for him to reach.<\/p>\n During Wednesday\u2019s edition of Seattle Sports\u2019 Bump and Stacy, co-host Stacy Rost<\/a> said she thinks there\u2019s still some untapped potential for Kirby. Yahoo Sports\u2019 Jordan Shusterman<\/a> explained what he thinks could help Kirby take his game to another level.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI think with him what\u2019s always interesting, and this is true for really all of these pitchers but especially with him and Logan (Gilbert) and Bryce (Miller), just the number of pitches that they throw. You really don\u2019t know exactly what is the secondary pitch that is going to help him get to the next level,\u201d Shusterman said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Logan Gilbert clearly figured that out with his splitter. That unlocked the level of swing and miss that he wasn\u2019t getting earlier in his career, and that\u2019s something that Kirby I think is still looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirby did post the highest whiff rate of his career last season at 26.7%, which ranked in the 61st percentile among qualified pitchers. It was the first time in his career his whiff rate was above league average. However, he still didn\u2019t have a clear put-away secondary pitch.<\/p>\n Kirby got his most strikeouts (51) on his four-seamer, and had 26 more with his sinker. The 33 strikeouts on his slider was the most he got on a non-fastball. Meanwhile, Gilbert struck out 90 batters with his splitter compared to 31 on fastballs.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it is a splitter, maybe it\u2019s another breaking ball. We know he\u2019s capable of adding a lot of pitches, but the command is always going to be there,\u201d Shusterman said of Kirby. \u201c\u2026 As it has been with Kirby for a while, it\u2019s just about finding the secondary pitch where you can get more swing and miss.\u201d<\/p>\n Hear the full conversation at this link<\/a> or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.\u00a0<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Mariners have an approach to spring training with WBC looming<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners acquire LHP Josh Simpson from Miami Marlins<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0See the Seattle Mariners\u2019 spring training TV and radio schedules<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Amid hype, Mariners\u2019 Kade Anderson aims to \u2018live in the moment\u2019<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Mariners\u2019 big question now is bullpen, which isn\u2019t the worst thing<\/a><\/p>\n
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